Hendren Discusses Disability and Design During Author Visit

Writer, artist, design researcher, and academic Sara Hendren visited Thayer’s campus Nov. 3 to share an extensive body of work which explores the places where disability shows up in design at all scales: assistive technology, furniture, architecture, and urban planning, among others. 

“I work in the worlds where disability and design meet,” said Hendren, this year’s guest author of the Benelli Visiting Writer Series, during an assembly with Upper School students. In addition to the assembly, Hendren also visited various English and arts classes throughout the day to discuss how writing is a part of her life and her varied creative projects. 

A professor at Northeastern University, Hendren is the author of What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World. The book was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by NPR and later won the 2021 Science in Society Journalism Award in the books category. Hendren also co-wrote and directed the documentary short film Simple Machine, a project which touches upon the roles of both classical and quantum mechanics while profiling an architect who lost his right arm as an adult and then created a tool shop with a host of assistive technologies. Before Northeastern, Hendren — whose bio lists “a long-running obsession with the inclined plane” — taught human-centered design and inclusive design for engineering students at Olin College of Engineering. Her writing has appeared in such publications as Harper’s Magazine, Wired, and The New York Times. 

At the Upper School assembly, Hendren told students that she tries to reimagine, both for herself and others, disability and its relationship to society; in a larger sense, she said, the question is really what it means to be human. Offering examples of a ramp designed specifically for wheelchair dance performances (as opposed to simple accessibility) and another ramp designed both for those in a wheelchair and for skateboarders, Hendren said she seeks to avoid or even push back against the traditional disability narratives: the “overcomer” story; the day-in-the-life “inspiration” story; and the “the swelling piano music” pity-inducing story. Those simplistic narratives, Hendren said, prove fairly unhelpful when telling the stories of complex individuals. 

“To have to adhere to those scripts is a form of diminishment,” she said. 

Hendren also pointed to the interdisciplinary nature of her work and said that students don’t need to slot themselves in the world of humanities at the expense of the sciences or vice versa. In fact, she said, her projects feature an interplay among art, design, and engineering. 

“Those things can be mixed together in interesting ways,” she said. 

Later in the day Hendren visited an AP Language & Composition course where she led juniors in a discussion of Simple Machine. The class explored flat vs. round characters, the difference between relatable and recognizable characters, and how a film’s words and images can reinforce or, at times, contradict one another. 

“The film was like a little bird in my ear,” Hendren said at one point, seeking to explain the genesis of the project. 

English Department Head Thad Robey, whose AP Language & Composition courses Hendren visited, welcomed the unique perspective Hendren brought to his classroom. 

“It was an enriching experience,” said Robey. “Sara was engaging, and she prompted insightful responses from our students. I loved how appropriate and complementary her work was to the work we’re doing in our classes.” 

Now in its 13th year, the Benelli Visiting Writer Series was created by Upper School History Faculty and Benelli Writing Center Director Karen Jersild, who still runs the series. 

"Sara Hendren added a new dimension to the series by introducing students to writing that integrates disciplines and advocates for inclusion," said Jersild.